Caribbean In person: Dominican Republic
The arrival of Amanera may have injected a dose of luxury into Dominican Republic, but jungle hikes, empty beaches, street art and shots of a native tipple ensure an authentic trip with plenty of local colour author: April Hutchinson
A shot of luxury T
hink Dominican Republic is just pile ’em high all-inclusive resorts? Think again – because, as they often
do, Aman has scouted out an unexplored gem in a stunning, untouched location, this time on the north coast of the island on the mile-long and very empty Playa Grande. The beach’s yellow sand is fringed by virgin
rainforest tumbling down from the mountain behind and bashed by Atlantic waves deposing cute local surfers. There’s a perfect cove at the western end of the beach in which during a three-year project the resort has been embedded. It now sits atop 60ft cliffs and among 2,000 acres, bought seven years ago to ensure privacy and space for the Amanjunkies who would one day be ensconed in its 25 casitas. It’s only the second Aman in the Caribbean –
the other is in nearby Turks & Caicos – and is the first Aman worldwide to be fully integrated into a golf course. The heart of the hotel may be Casa Grande, home to open-plan welcome lobby, reception, library, infinity pool, restaurant and bar, but is actually where the 14th, 15th and 16th holes used to be. The original course was designed by Robert Trent Jones and refreshed by his son Rees
as part of this project, but with the 10 holes famously played directly on open cliffs retained. “Many of our Amanjunkies are golfers, so this makes sense,” general manager Albert Mertz tells me. “But whereas before you would have had around 100 golfers a day playing the course, now it’s reserved just for our guests.” Those golfers (who will have to pay about $325
a round, despite being guests) are probably from the east coast of the US, where many Amanjunkies have been known to breed, and zipping down the Atlantic for a short break to Dom Rep makes sense to them –Mertz expects US guests to make up 80% of the total. But you don’t have to be American to stay
here – anyone can appreciate the John Heah architecture and lighting by George Sexton Associates, which has lit hundreds of the world’s buildings, including the top of London’s Shard. Of course, from from the UK it’s a bit harder to
get to. While Puerto Plata is only an hour away from the resort, no direct flights go there from the UK. British Airways flies to Punta Cana in the east, but that would be nudging 4.5 hours on a transfer. My option was with Iberia via Madrid to Santa Domingo, then a 2.5-hour transfer, but part of the Aman experience is feeling like a VIP, so I was swept through the airport without facing immigration and before I knew it, my bags were in the car and I was mopping my brow with a cold towel. I settled into a drive that cut up through the middle of the country, weaving past coconut plantations, roaming cattle and farmers on horseback, and there was definitely nothing pile ’em high about this part of Dominican Republic.
Splendid tranquillity Manicured perfection of the golf course aside, Amanera’s 2,000 acres also include a generous swathe of the surrounding forest, so you won’t see another soul on a two-hour hike, save for birds, geckos and the occasional spider. As we hiked, our guide had many tales about what
46
TTGLUXURY.COM SPRING 2016 DESTINATIONS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86